Heroes Uprising: Alternate Universe (Thread 4)

"Hey Tani, Katy and Kano" Cass said as the three touched landed. Once back to her own feet Katy was trying to pat the fizzes out of her hair. "I agree, thanks for the ride Kano but I think I'll look for a less electrically charged mode of transport next time." Katy took note of a few of the others being over in the flower patch while the rest had yet to show up. "I wonder how many are going to show up, given the circumstances?" Katy asked, then remembered about Cass "Oh and hi um... Cass right?" Cassandra gave a confirmation nod to Katy.

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Sandra managed to chip in a little "bye" directed at Milo before Dave teleported the group away. They arrived within a blink at the training grounds seeing Cass, Tani, Katy, Kano and Noah already there. Sandra walked over to the Tani, Kano and Katy. "Hi Kano." She said to greet him before addressing the girls "So Tani, Katy, you two was sparring together right? How'd it go? I hope you guys didn't wear yourselves out to much."

Kart responded "Oh yea, it went good. Tanesha has learned some new moves since the tournament." Well this was awkward giving what had occurred earlier. Truthfully now that she was here it was kinda terrifying standing in front of Sandra, giving she was telepathic and all. Sandra could so easily learn what happened tonight and there is nothing Katy or Tani would be able to do to stop her. Tanesha must be so grateful her girlfriend doesn't abuse her power and respects her friends privacy.

In a great rush, Emmet felt vitality flood his body, jarring his weatherd mind back into action. As his senses returned, he could hear music beginning to play. His eryes closed, his others senses were sharpened, he could feel Riku and Kaiser sitting on either side of him, harmonizing to the melody, instinctively, Emmet joined in as Riku began to sing.

Riku:
A part of me wants to leave you alone.
A part of me wants for you to come home.
A part of me says I'm living a lie.
(Emmet and Kaiser:And I'm better off without you.)
A part of me says to think it through.
A part of me says I'm over you.
A part of me wants to say goodbye.
A part of me is asking why...


A part of me wants to leave.
But a part of me wants to be here with you.
And everytime I think we're over and done you do something to get me back loving you.
And you got me just torn.

(Riku) with Emmet and Kaiser:
Torn in between the two. (Oh yeah)
Cuz I really wanna be with you.
But something's telling me I should leave you alone. (I really want to be with you)
Leave you alone.
Leave you alone.
And you got me just torn in between the two. (In between the two)
Cuz I really wanna be with you. (Be with you)
But something's telling me I should leave you alone. (You alone)
Leave you alone.
Leave you alone.

Riku:
There were no issues when we started out.
It was cool.
It was everything that love's about.
But something happened.
Plus I'm feeling so burnt out.
(Emmet and Kaiser:Cuz I can't understand you now.) Now oh
(Emmet and Kaiser:I just can't understand you now.)
A part of me says it's all my fault.
A part of me says "he ain't what you want."
A part of me says to get my bags.
A part of me says I can't do that.


A part of me wants to leave.
But a part of me wants to be here with you.
And everytime I think that it's over and done you make me fall back in love.
You got me just torn.

(Riku) with Emmet and Kaiser:
Torn in between the two. (Between the two)
Cuz I really wanna be with you. (Be with you)
But something's telling me I should leave you alone.(You alone)
Leave you alone.
Leave you alone.
And you got me just torn in between the two. (Torn in between the two)
Cuz I really wanna be with you. (Really wanna be with you)
But something's telling me I should leave you alone. (Telling me I should leave)
Leave you alone. (Alone)
Leave you alone. (Alone)

Emmet and Kaiser with (Riku):
So many times I... (I was ready to go)
So many times I... (Had my foot out the door)
So many times I... (I thought to give him a chance, thought he'd be a better man)
Now I'm sitting here and I'm so confused.
Cuz I keep fighting myself for you. (I don't know how much more I can take but I can't feel this way)
(You got me so torn)

(Riku) with Emmet and Kaiser:
Torn in between the two. (Oh yeah)
Cuz I really wanna be with you. (I really wanna be with you)
But something's telling me I should leave you alone.
Leave you alone.
Leave you alone. (But I don't know)
And you got me just torn in between the two. (Should I stay or should I go)
Cuz I really wanna be with you. (I don't know)
But something's telling me I should leave you alone. (You alone)
Leave you alone.
Leave you alone. (You alone)

And you got me just torn in between the two. (I'm torn in between the two)
Cuz I really wanna be with you. (I really wanna be with you)
But something's telling me I should leave you alone. (But I don't know)
Leave you alone.
Leave you alone.


And you got me just torn in between the two.
Cuz I really wanna be with you.
But something's telling me I should leave you alone.
Leave you alone.
Leave you alone


Emmet smiled and opened his eyes as the song ended, he brushged away the tears that had formed as he sat up " What a lovely and sorrowful song, excellent choice dawling "

Riku shrugged " Thanks, its been on repeat on my spotify for awhile, dunno why but I assume someone is feeling the lyrics to heart. Anyway how are you? "

" I feel....lighter then I did before, the weight isnt entirely gone but I will stop wallowing so much, theres still so much to be done afterall and I have stay on top of my game "

" Good to hear " Kaiser said as he helped Emmet stand up " I'm unacostomed to not seeing you shine brightly and I dont know how to take it "

Emmet patted his cheek " Your very sweet dawling and Riku, my debt to you continues to grow "

" You dont owe me anything, just keep being you " Riku said with a very Tesla hair toss " I'm gonna go vomit now, i'll catch up with you guys in a minute " he walked behind a tree and the sound of vomiting could indeed be heard as Emmet and Kaiser made their way to where the others were gathering.

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Tanesha patted at her hair as focused on remaining composed. Sandra had no reason to suspect anything had happened with her and Katy, but the guilt she felt was terrible, even as it was battling it out with her feelings for Katy. Not long after that Victoria, Tyrone, Tie, and Roberta all showed up.

" Well guess were all here, kinda makes the declarations from earlier a little pointless dont you think? " Tyrone in an attempt to lighten the mood with a joke, which of course didnt really land, he'd certainly been suprised when Victoria had said she still wanted to come to these practices, she'd finally unlocked her secondary mutation and there was no better place for her to practice with it then here.

Victoria took a seat next to Tanesha and started helping the other girl with her hair, asking what had happened, while also keeping an eye out, Tesla didnt appear to be there.

Cassandra couldn't help but notice the little ying yang situation Tanesha was in. Of course because of her own manipulation Tani was feeling fearful about opening up to Sandra about the affair, but it looked like Katy was already trying to steer Tani down the path of honesty. Cass thought she'd get through at least one night without Katy going all goody two shoes but she decided to let this play out for now.

Looking around at the group Katy asked "Is Tesla coming?" Sandra shook her head "Sorry Katy but your main training partner won't be here tonight. She would like to be here, but she's not ready yet. The scars of battle Emmet left on her are still running to deep. She will be back though when she's ready."

Cass couldn't help but sigh a little in relief, Riku was a dick but Tesla has always been super cold and mean to here right from the moment she set foot on this island. So she defiantly looked forward to at least not having that headache around.

Emmet and Kaiser made their entrance just as all the others, sans Tesla, had appeared. Tabitha making it just before them. The atmosphere immediately changed the moment Emmet came into view. The emotional climate was quite a mixed bag, anger, longing, distrust, acceptance, love, apathy. All were presence, Emmet felt like more resitant to all of it then he usually would be. Empathy had been a difficult power to get used to, especially in tandem with telepathy, but as he gained more master, he found the negative effects decreasing.

He gave a cursory nod of greeting to the group, but otherwise stayed slightly behind Kaiser as he was the one who usually was in charge of these sessions. Before Kaiser could even open his mouth, someone shouted " WAIT FOR MEEEE!! "

Riku, still in Tesla's form, came running out of the brush, with a noticeable difference. His breast had grown to a great perportion and were bouncing all over the place as he ran. He paused beside Emmet, with a final BOING. Stooped over slight, just enough to show plent of cleavage and heaving for breath as an added effect " Damn, I almost gave myself two black eyes on the way here! What I miss? "

The area was dead silent now, some automatically deducing it was Riku, while a few others taking a minute to catch up " Oh you came Tesla, is something different about you? " Donovan asked, to which Victoria placed a sisterly hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"Bitch what the fuck are you doing? " Tanesha demanded, her self-esteem taking some unnecessary damage, along with a few other girls in the group " Whats with the look and your two new friends "

Riku crossed her arms under his breast, propping them up with another BOING " Oh Tanesha do you mean these? My boobies? my massive fucking titties? My super stuffed mikies? My honker bonker doinky boinkies? my fucking fabric stretching wind flapping gravity welling sex mounds? You mean these super duper ultra hyper god damn mother fucking tits?! Behold for I am tig ol bittie Tesla, better then all of you, look upon these sweet fucking tits and hate me!"

" Done and done " Dave said as he tried to pry his eyes off of the shapeshifted demon, he was a boob man and had a mild interest in Tesla, but just no "

" Why do I feel like those damn things are mesmerizing? " Victoria muttered in annoyance as Riku started shimmying.

Kaiser cleared his throat loudly " Riku was sparring with Emmet earlier and this is the result, he will be in this form for awhile, moving on. I realize things are tense in the group, but lets not stop the progress thats been made here so far "

As someone who became accepting of the beauty of both men and women, Sandra did wonder what the obsession with big breasts was. Maybe she just preferred natural beauty, she for example loved Tanesha just how she was, she wouldn't want her girlfriend to run off and get excessively big breasts, or Botox lips, face lifts, etc. Like if it was something she wanted, then fine. But she certainly didn't need any of that to impress Sandra. If anything, Sandra would even say there is a certain unattractiveness when people exaggerate the human form to to much of a cartoony degree. Besides Sandra would be lying if she said she didn't have a thing for a fine set of legs and a nice shapely body, not just breasts alone.

"Riku you would be so punched in the back of the head if the real Tesla was here, especially acting like that." Cass had to agree with that statement, Tesla would be so peeved at these antics. Almost makes her wish the bitch was here so she could moan at somebody else for a change. Katy also caught on after a quick second, she caught the face first which was spot on, but the way she was acting the exceedingly big knockers, it had to be the groups resident shape shifting demon, Riku.

As everyone soon caught on Kaiser starting speaking, if anything Riku's antics had at least briefly distracted people from the mix of emotions that was surrounding Emmet. Katy spoke up after Kaiser "I agree Kaiser. Regardless of how any of us feel about Emmet at this time, the remaining Horsemen and Troy with his goons are still out there. Like it or not we are all in this together. I'm not saying everything is water under the bridge, but there is to much danger in this place for us to separate completely and stop progressing."

" HA, mirable whip knows I would lay her pasty ass out if she tried " Riku said " Besides its not like I made an instagram account and spent this entire time filling it with post and whatnot, now igmore while I do nothing on my phone "

" Katy has a point, I wont ask that any of you forgive me or change your stance, but only that you look after yourselves and continue your growth " Emmet said, immediately drawing everyones attention " Your all bursting with potential, if nothing else it would be a shame for it to be stiffled, I will continue my own training separate from the rest of you, you need not encounter me "

" Indeed friends, splitting up the group as a whole could prove to be fatal, are enemies have decreased somewhat, but they are still a present danger to be vigilante of " Kano put in

Victoria nodded " Thats all true, Troy has been way too quiet, he's definetly up to something, then theres the remaining reapers, with one apparently being a teacher here now, thats odd "

" All the more reason to stay the current course, continue training, we should also set up check-ins as needed to ensure no one is caught unaware. That being said lets begin "

Garfield had remained quiet during the whole discussion, keeping his gaze pointed at the ground, knowing full well that if he tried to look anywhere else, he wouldnt be able to help looking at Emmet...or Riku's boobs.

" He's gone " Dave said to his friend and Emmet flew off, Garfield noticeably relaxed his stance.

Riku boinged over to them, and Donovan, Adrian and Tabitha(who was shooting deathglares at Riku's boobs) joined them.

" Alright then you maggots, were going to be continuing the next stages of the lessions, starting off with the usual meditation to loosen up your magic circuits then were going to have some nice and friendly sparring "

Garfield rolled his eyes " Yeah right, you wanna beat us u-AAAHH! "

Riku had turned quickly in Garfields direction, the demons large breast smacking the boy high into the air and off into the distance.

" Garfield did you say something, speak up!...Garfield? "

He made a show of looking around confused for Garfield before looking off in the direction Garfield crashed " Oh there he is, alright ladies fall out! " he took off running, boing, boing, boing.

As Emmet flew off he felt someone mentally reaching out to him, it was Sandra contacting him telepathically. Hey you left before I could ask face to face, but can I come with you? Being the only other Phoenix of the group I was thinking we could do some training together. She sighed as Riku went running off. She acted normally back on the training ground, discussing the nights plans with others present while also conversing mentally with others.

Katy was currently with Sandra and Tani. "So what's the plan? Me and Tani already got a good amount of sparring in, my vote goes towards having some training matches using our powers. Or will we be doing more chi training?" Sandra thought about it "We could do some of both I guess." Cass walked over to Tani "Hey sis, I decided to join you for some practice."

Emmet hadnt gotten very far when Sandra's voice reached him, floating leisurely through the sky, he paused and smiled " Of course dawling, I always welcome your company "

" Both sound good to me, Kaiser has been saying using both in tangent will be better then just using one " Tanesha felt like she was getting a better grasp on chi, she wasnt excelling at it like some of the others, but she'd certainly gotten a good grasp of the basics and could boost her physical peramiters somewhat, though stuff like Shundo was still beyond her.

As Cassandra came over to join them, she felt a weird sensation, she was already on edge with Katy and Sandra being present, given what had happened earlier. But for some reason Cassandra's presense was having the same effect and she couldnt say why, but she chalked up to her looking like Sandra.

The others were breaking off into their own groups as well, Kaiser and Noah making rounds, offering advice and sparring partners, which generally led to bruises and bleeding, but more often then not, new techniques.

Suddenly a large pair of breast came running over " Hey ya'll mind if I join you, of course you dont, who wouldnt want these sweater cows around! " Riku said as he narrowly stopped himself from topping over from the weight of his breast.

Tanesha mentally let out a sigh of relief " Bitch shouldnt you be running those bootleg magic classes? "

" The only thing bootleg around here is that party city wig on your head and Katy's outfit " Riku shot back as he adjusted his bra " Tabitha, who totally loathes my two best friends, Kano, and Angel cunt can handle it, besides theres too much sad bitch energy over there. I figure I could just hang with you ho's till I can finally be me again " he said with a hair toss and boob jiggle.

Tanesha could feel herself relax a little, this petty bitch was actually doing some good for once by being around.

"Well girls I got word back, so I'm going to go catch up to Emmet. Maybe you guys can get Cass here caught up on the chi stuff and show her some fighting moves." Sandra walked over and gave Tanesha a kiss before floating into the air, with a wave she told Tani she'd see her later tonight then turned and flew off after Emmet.

As he wasn't far away and just coasting, it wouldn't take long for Sandra to catch up to Emmet. "Hey Em, thanks for letting me tag along. So where we headed?" Sandra was pleased Emmet invited her along, while she was able to stall him for a bit back on the island when they fought, it was still clear there was a big difference between the depths of Phoenix power Emmet had compared to her own, she hoped by training with him that it would help grow her understanding even more of this Phoenix Force and allow her to access even deeper depths. She certainly didn't expect to catch up to Emmet in a single night or anything, but just by training with someone else who shared this ability and knew how to really draw it out, it could only help Sandra grow her own skills.

Plus, who knows what else Emmet had to offer outside Phoenix as well. While she does do some, Sandra has certainly put more time into Phoenix, Telekintics, and Telepathic training then she had physical training. Even Tani might be ahead of her by now in that regard. At least she knew more physical stuff now then back at the tournament, but still it was another area she could probably afford to start investing a little more time into then she had been.

-----

Katy was inwardly a bit relieved when Sandra left them, though Cass was still here and who really knew if she shared the real Sandra's honour system. But she haven't been asking any questions, so Katy supposed they where still good. "Well where do you guys want to start, should we focus on getting Cass caught up on some of the fundamentals?" Katy knew Cassandra had at least a decent grip on her basic powers, but she couldn't recall ever seeing Cass fight, so probably like pre-tournament Sandra Cass is probably lucky if she even knew how to form a punch properly.

Katy remembered trying to prep the two girls for the tournament, while Tani wasn't a pro or anything, she at least knew some street level brawling skills. Sandra knew pretty much nothing at all pre-tournament, it was honestly a bit of a headache training Sandra at the time. It was like grabbing some random person off the street and teaching them to fight, Katy had to train Sandra in how to move properly and everything. Pre-tournament Sandra was all about her abilities, take away her telepathy and telekinese at that time, and she was basically helpless. It really slowed down progress leading up to tournament, but at least Katy managed to get both girls down with the basics. Both have grown leaps and bounds since then though.

Still, it's reasonable to think Cassandra is in the same position now as Sandra was back then. And she haven't been around for chi lessons. So in terms of chi and physical combat, it looks like they could be starting completely from scratch with Cass. "Huh, thinking about how much work we got ahead of us to get Cass caught up, it's no wonder Sandra flew off and pawned this job off on us." Katy said, in a joking tone with a light laugh.

Emmet gestured towards the distance where Sandra could se smoke clouds and followed after Emmet as he accelerated from his leisurely pace. It wasnt long before they arrived. Sandra noted that the area looked like a war had taken place, able to sense trace amounts of cosmic energy. Emmet sat cross legged in the air and looked around " This is where Riku and I were sparring, though it could also be called a therapy session "

He turned back to Sandra " I can assume what spurred this on is what occured during the island. You were the last one standing against me because we were using the same power, different magnitudes, but nonetheless " he assumed she wanted to train to gain a deeper understanding of how Emmet had become so powerful.

" That night....there was a lot going on in my head, whatever Thanatos had snapped in me, broke my inhibitions and released a darker part of myself, im not sure. But the power of the phoenix just flowed more smoother to me and I already feel a deep connection to it. I took a plunge, deeper then I ever have and didnt drown, even though I can tell it was a paltry depth, nowhere near the service, I shudder to think what could have happened in that mindset, had I reached deeper levels of power....earlier I froze time "

He thought back to that moment when Riku had been coming at him, his guilt and shame " I couldnt remember what I had done to Tesla in the moment we clashed, thats left her so broken, its part of the reason Riku was trying to help me and why he's in his current form. At one point he was coming at me and I just wanted to run away, wanted everything to stop and it did. I had no control over it and I have tried a few times to will it into happening again but to no avail "

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Tanesha giggled at Katy compliment but covered it with a cough after a glance from Riku " Uh its cool, Cassandra's smart so im sure she'll pick up the basics pretty quickly. Though since Sandra's not really good at using chi it may be the same. But like Kaiser said psychic energy can be used in kind of the same way so we can still progress fine in that area, though we'll need to call him over for that part of the lessons "

Riku snorted at the smart comment " Anywho, well ladies what do you say we loosen ourselves up with some jumpingjac-

Tanesha/Katy/Cassandra: ABSOLUTELY NOT!

" Bitch you are loose enough for this whole group, probably weigh about as much as the whole group with those slabs of FAT on your chest! " Tanesha snapped.

Riku gasped placed both hands on his knockers " Tanesha please, I realize im in the presence of the itty bitty titty commitee and its president, TANESHA, but no need to take out your inferiority on my babies! " He turned towards Cassandra and gave her an appraising look, almost like he was really noticing she existed for the first time.

" Alright you pack of 4's a 10 is speaking! Ok Kool-aid man, I can see you've got a fairly decent grasp on your powers but yeah you definetly look like Elmo before she learned to ball her hands up into a fist and pump the air.For a psionic based person when it comes to fighting they generally stay in the background and work their mojo from their. It's similar to how traditionally mages fight as well, hurling spells from the back of the fight. But in both cases it's possible to be a brawler and fight on the front lines "

His tone has lost some of it's shade and was actually speaking more serious " he snapped his fingers and a straw dummy, that looked suspiciously like Noah, appeared in front of them " Like Tanesha said, psychic energy can replicate some of the things chi can, tactile telekinesis for example allows one to control their own body and its capability, mimicking super strength, depening on how strong the persons power is. Aquafina since basic shit like this is in your ballpark, be a dear and demonstrate how to throw a punch " he gestured at the doll.

After reaching the spot Sandra listened as Emmet what had been going on, it was interesting that Emmet was still struggling to bring forth the Phoenix power at will, but other then being on a lesser scale overall, was Sandra herself really that much different? "It sounds like our emotions are the key to accessing the power, that it comes more of a response to a need then a want." At least that's how it seemed for Emmet, recalling back her runs in's with Karen, notably the time she nearly sliced the girls skull open. Sandra wasn't so now the Phoenix was working for her the same way it worked for Emmet. Because that was not a need, that was most definitely a want. Then again in the Battle with Emmet she was just trying to survive and save her friends, so that was a need. Did that mean Sandra had multiple means of accessing this cosmic power? Maybe it was just intense emotion in general, regardless of the cause, that pulled the power out?

"As for Tesla I'm having sessions with her. I don't know if I can fully undo what you did, that moment during the battle seems to be stuck in her mind, like she can't get rid of it or move past it. I think you may of inflicted some mental torment onto her. If I can't undo it, I should be able to heal her mental scars enough that she'll at least be able to confront you. This mental healing is one of lessons I had with Ms Goodman. I try not to pry to much, but I've seen that in the mental state she's in right now, she can't bare to look at or be in the same room as you. My goal is to help that as much as I can, but it may ultimately come down to you to fully undo what you've done. I don't know for sure yet, but I thought you should be ready anyway."

-----

Katy gave Cass a bit of a run down on stanching, how to move to throw your bodies momentum and weight into a strike, both of which helps to increase it's strength at least under normal conditions. And how to attack in ways that reduces injury to yourself. As per Riku's request she stepped up to the dummy and expertly performed a strike straight to the chest. Katy noted she wasn't using chi so the strike was nowhere near as strong as it could be, nut still hit with some decent force for Katy going at the dummy all natural. She noted how cracking a opponents ribs can make it hard to breath, or if you go for the heart it could be a legit kill shot, at least towards most normal beings.

" That does make a certain degree of sense, a want and a need can be powerful thing depending on how strong they are. If you want or need them badly enough and have the resolve to do whatever it takes to get them " Emmet mused " I wanted everything to stop and that was certainly a desperate want, but on the island.....I wanted more power.....I needed more power.....No it was just there, beyond a want or a need, it felt like a right, I just kept drawing on more and more and accepted it "

He smiled wryly " Perhaps confidence is the key, i've never lacked for that in my life, for the most part and I do feel a certain closeness to the phoenix force. Do you remember what we learned from Agnes Sheets? The purpose of the phoenix force is to burn what doesnt work or thats the theory, to do away with that caught in stagnation. I've wracked my brain over that many a times, but im still not sure. I dont feel like im being compulsed to do anything, the phoenix force is simply hear, flowing through us and allowing us to use its power, that cant merely be for no reason "

Agnes had said the cosmic entity wasnt sentient, but how much of that was true with the existence of Mien? It was aware, but on its own it couldnt use its own power to its fullest effects? Emmet ran his fingers over his knecklace as he spoke, the same one Riku had given him after the fall of Agne's tower and what he wore all the time " What is this power supposed to mean to us? " he looked at Sandra as if expecting an answer, or moreso her thoughts on what he'd said.

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" Alright good job Dasani, though I would add, be sure work those hips, thats where the power comes from " he sauntered over, swinging his hips, which seemed to be altering as his butt grew bigger, and smacked the dummy, causing it to burst, it's heading right past Noah's who looked over and glared.

" Sorry about that nono! You, dont be afraid to put some prostitude into it! "

Tanesha held her sides " Bitch PROSTITUDE?! AND TITTIES OR ASS, PICK ONE, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!! " Tanesha yelled through laughter.

" Haten ass hoes out in packs tonight I see! Fine, im sticking with boobies " his butt shrank as he gestured and summoned another dummy, " Now you Kool-aid, follow Evians instructions, you can follow mine about the hips but not in quite a bad bitch way, and throw a punch "
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Luthor wasnt waiting belong before the person he'd came to meet appeared. A very unnasuming caucasian man walked into the room, two large muscular looking men with lionine heads on either side of him. This was Dio the butcher, someone well know in the black market for human trafficing with an emphasis on mutants, selling them, their powers, organs and body parts as need be, he'd cornered the market in the last ten years with brutal efficiency and he was someone Luthor almost deeply respected.

" Ah my good mr.Belcourt, how are you doing this fine evening? "

Luthor stood up and shook the mans hand, despite appearance, Dio had a firm grip to him, they took their seats and were eached poured a glass of very expensive brandy.

" I'm doing great as alway Dio and as usual im coming to you with some very fascinating prospects " he pulled out his phone and tapped something on his phone, sending a file to Dio. The man gestured another bodyguard, this one with crocodile feautures produced a laptop and sat it in front his boss. Dio scrolled through the files, his expression remaining pleasant, but Luthor could see beads of sweat forming, a hunger growing in his eyes.

" Yes, fascinating prospects indeed "

Sandra really didn't have a answer for Emmet, but agreed with his points. "Yea Phoenix definitely seeked us out for a reason. And Mien pretty much disproves the non-sentient thing doesn't she? I spent a week with her after dying, seemed pretty sentient to me." The idea of confidence being the key sounded like a solid idea. "As for what this power is supposed to mean to us, Emmet I have no idea. I've been wondering that since day, and even after all the time I spent with Mien and what we learnt from that, I'm still not sure what the answer to that question is."

Sandra kinda felt bad she really didn't have much of a answer for Emmet, but it really is like he said, the cosmic Phoenix really is just there. It's like asking Sandra what being a telepath meant to her. It really didn't have a meaning, it's just part of who she is. That's what this Phoenix feels like.

-----

This night was proving to be so much weirder then Cass had been expecting, is this what the True Notes had to put up with all the time? She stepped up to the dummy and tried to do what Katy did. She certainly didn't have the fluidity, strength or impact Katy did, but she somewhat had the idea. You could say she understood the directions, but had all the grace of somebody who never trained in their life.

Emmet sighed " Apologies dawling, that was quite a few existential inquieries. But I believe you are right, we were chosen for a reason, a reason that will doubtlessly reveal itself in time. For now all we can do is go with the flow as it comes, we have this power and we need to master it "

He nodded, as much to himself as Sandra, as if assuring them both of the paths in front of them " Lets take stock of what were capable of with this power . Invoking cosmic energy, generally in the form of fire but a pure energy form possible as well. Phoenix fire functions much like normal fire, albeit its able to burn things that are unnafected by regular fire. Cosmic energy is capable of massive concussive damage, as well as incredible defensive capabilities. I've developed my cosmic orbs technique with it and im working on various other things. Not to mention it boost our base abilities to higher levels, as I said earlier I froze time so I believe time manipulation is on the list as well, creating constructs as well "

He recalled the massive firebird he'd created during his rampage.

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" That was pretty good " Tanesha said " Relax your stance a little bit so you dont tense up before you make contact, otherwise that was good for a first try "

" Yeah it wasnt terrible, you get two ratatatata's for that! " he shimmied his large breast " ratatata....ratatata....ratatata, you know I think that warrants five more! "

" Yeah lets move away from that " Tanesha loudly as Riku continued his ratatata " Should we continue with punches or move to kicks? "

Sandra remembered the Phoenix construct well, it was something that struck fear into most others but for her, she was almost memorised by it. Such a beautiful yet destructive creature, she hoped to learn how to create one in due time. "Well on my end end I've gotten pretty used to cosmic fire be it sweeping waves, fire balls or even a small controlled flame, I seem to be able to do it all. I can focus the Phoenix into more energy based attacks as well, it's probably why I was able to replicate your orbs so quickly during our battle. And I can coat my body in cosmic energy, having it act as a shield or barrier of sorts that protect from energy based attacks. As for time freezing... yea, that skill is still well beyond me I think at this point."

Between the two Emmet seemed to have more creative freedom with what he could do with the Phoenix at this time, but Sandra had learned enough basic Phoenix tools mainly based around energy and fire manipulation that she could get though a fight.

-----

"Hold on a sec, lets give her one more try." Katy gave Cass a few tips on on how to relax her body and focus, to not think about screwing up and to take a deep breath to calm herself and loosen up. She told Cass to just focus on the target which was the dummy and take another shot. This lead to a much clearer and smoother strike from Cass.

Katy could see Cass simply had some limitations. She was active in sports, she wasn't a cheerleader or anything like Sandra and Tani. Cass body did have some natural limitations and her flexibility was only so good. This could be overcome though. Katy recommended to Cassandra to add some daily stretches to her routine, and find time in the day to add in some cardio exercises. As she was now, there was no way Cass could for example pull off a high kick to kick someone in the face, her body and limbs was to stiff to accommodate that type of flexibility. But with the right type of exercises, Cass will be able to pull of those types of moves in time.

"Alright Tani do you want next turn? How about stepping up and showing your accepted sister a mid kick (stomach/side kick level)? I think Cass is capable enough for that."

Katy was going to say adopted, but she didn't think Cass was adopted into Tani or Sandra family officially, actually she was a Goodman now. Tani and Sandra just loved her like a sibling. So she used the wordbaccepted instead.

" We have a similar repertoire of skills with the powers then, the main thing now is expanding upon it " Emmet said " Continuing to gain a better understanding as we have been but I feel like its more of a pressing matter now " he cupped his hands together and a miniture fire bird appeared in his hands " With better understanding of our limitations comes a better sense of control of ourselves. The true limits we hold are set by our imaginations "

The fire bird took flight and circled around Emmet for a few turns till it paused behind him and promply grew in size till it was just bigger then he was " We cant afford to lose ourselves Sandra, the damage we could be capable of is incalcuable, never forget that " the fire bird winked out of exsitence " Now I have an idea for some thought training, i've used the phrase diving into the power of the phoenix force, were going to take that a little more literal "

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tanesha stepped up and performed the kick three times at different speeds so Cassandra could get a good look. She noticed the same thing as Katy that Cassandra's body was different from Sandra's, who'd developed more from doing cheerleading and other physical activities, putting on a slight hint of tone and muscle. This did put her at a bit of a disadvantage, but if she worked hard enough at it, she would be able to catch up in no time.

Like Chung-Li, Riku came flying over to them in an upside down spinning bird kick, once again destroying the dummy, send its head flying at Noah, and making another dummy as he landed.

" I'm back with more words of wisdom and giant breast! Elmers glue do you actually wanna learn any of this crap? I mean in pertaining to your own personal fighting style, you could mix in some melee stuff or just stick to keeping it at a distance, its not gonna work unless you honestly want it too, this is the time when a fighter can decide what kind of fighter they wanna be "

Sandra wasn't sure on that, she to admit it did sound a bit frightening. "Are you implying we did deep into the Phoenix's power? Are you sure we're ready for that?" Sandra come here expecting to learn more, but taking a deep dive into the Phoenix abyss wasn't exactly what she had in mind. Thinking about her and Karen and then what happened to Emmet on the island. Just Emmet took out the whole group, if the two of them went power hungry crazy at the same time this whole world would be fucked. She guess that explains Emmet warning about not losing sight of themselves.

-----

"Riku this isn't a turn based RPG video game, even if Cass wants to stay as a distance fighter, at least knowing some basic attacks in the event a enemy gets close can only help." While there was those in the True Notes that cared about fighting more then others, even those not interested in close quarters combat still knew at least a little bit to defend themselves with. Katy didn't come into this with any plans of making Cass a martial arts master, but at least let her learn some self defence.

Cass spoke up "While martial arts isn't really a interest of mine, I do want to learn. I feel like I can offer a lot more to help you guys over just being the shield lady, and some of the skills I'm going to be leaning with mother sounds they could benefit from me knowing how to handle myself in a fight."

Really she just didn't want Sandra getting to far ahead of her, bitch was already dangling the Phoenix Force advantage over her. But it's not like this group needed to know that.

Riku laughed " Mountain valley spring water you have no idea how fucking wrong you are. Life is indeed like a turn based rpg video game and most people waste their lives maxing out the wrong stats, if the popular trend in webcomics is anything to go by. Elmers glue i'll grant you that you have a seemingly good mindset and you being less useless wouldnt be a bad thing in and of itself "

He crossed his arms under his large sweater cows, propping them up more " But my main point is what kind of fighter do you want to be? Take Evian for example, she's primarily a melee fighter, focusing on martial arts and as a result has grossly neglected her power over puddles. Granted she's been working on it, water is a versatile weapon and is great any number of situations. The same could be said for your powers, keep this in mind as your continuing to learn. I'll assume that you dont wanna copy Sandra and how she tends to fight, another thing to keep in mind as you craft a style that suits you "

Tanesha hated to admit it, but Riku did have a point. A personal style determined how you approached a fight and built your skills up. Tanesha herself wasnt a frontline fighter and she accepted that, but with her secondary mutation she was able to run support by slowing down enemies and for her primary power it allowed her to further hinder enemies if able to touch them, on her own and facing a crowd a good poison cloud was pretty useful for crowd control.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"I think a better analogy is wading a little further from the shallow end, I'm certainly not suggesting we plunge head first into the depths. I assure you dawling, i'm not that wreckless " Emmet said with a chuckle " This is an excersise to gradually gauge our limits and slowly break through. By drawing on a steady increase in power. One of us would do the exercise while the other watches and acts as a safety net, pulling the other back if it appears they are straying to far. If you are open to the idea, i'll go first "

Emmet waited for Sandra's response, he understood her hesitation, given how he'd just explained the possible dangers of becoming drunk on the phoenix's power, but Emmet felt that this was the correct course of action to take, he had too. A strong and unwavering will was key for this sort of endeavor,as they were now it was only a matter of time before another dark phoenix incident occured, they needed to deepen their understanding and they couldnt do that by constantly staying in the safe end, some risk were required and Emmet was nothing if not a gambler.

Sandra understood what Emmet was saying, it was still scary given both had incidents in the past, though Emmet's was worse. "Well... I did say I still trust you. I admit I am a bit nervous, but if this is the only way then so be it. But why do you want to go first? As far as this Phoenix stuff goes, you can already draw out more of it to safe controllable level then I can. In the event of something going wrong, shouldn't I start us off? Stands to reason you would have a easier time stopping me then I would have trying to stop you if the Phoenix power clouds our mind."

The events of the island was still in Sandra's mind and how it took her pushing far beyond her own comfort zone just to survive against Emmet, let alone try to fight back. Having Emmet do this first seemed like potentially the most dangerous option, and she couldn't really hide, that had her a bit frightened.

-----

"You are right Riku, I don't want to copy Sandra. Heck if anything I want to better then her. I'm always being compared to Sandra, and even generally regarded as inferior to her because I don't have the Phoenix. I know someone going to say ignore it, but it's not really that easy in school full of mutants. So no I don't want to copy Sandra, I can't do it even I wanted to anyway. But what I can do is focus on myself and show the world I don't need no Phoenix Force to be able to take care of myself."

Katy had no idea Cassandra was feeling this type of way, but the True Notes as a band had become pretty big in school, they where all borderline local celebrities to a point as crazy as that was to consider. So she kinda get it, has to suck being compared to someday else every day of your life. She wondered if Mr Goodman had talked to Cass, kinda motivated her to step out of Sandra's shadow and carve her own destiny in life.

"As for a style" Cass continued "I don't think I've really settled on one quite yet. I want to just overall improve myself and over time, kinda just see what clicks you know. See what I'm good at, and what I should focus on."

Emmet considered that " Hmm, I'd thought to give a demonstration on how to delve deeper, but I can see the soundness of your statement. Just a moment "

He mentally reached out to Kaiser, Riku, Tie, Noah, and Kano informing them of what he and Sandra were about to do and to be on standby for any possible incidents.

" Alright then dawling, if your ready then let us begin. Start by closing your eyes and focusing your will and summon the power of the phoenix force. I want you to imagine your in one of the schools pools, standing in the shallow end, before you is a wide and expansive body of water, this represents the phoenix force. Now slowly begin to wade deeper, as you do so draw out more of the power, keep it steady, slow, and constant "

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Tanesha was taken aback to hear that Cassandra felt this way, but as she thought about it, it made sense. Cassandra was a clone of Sandra and even without meaning to, the two girls were always compared to one another and that wasnt really fair to either as they were their own individual persons.

" Well thats certainly a decent goal to have Elmers glue, in that sense you are different from Elmo, for other reasons too i'm sure " Riku didnt elaborate on what he meant as got Emmets message, instead continuing on " You'll figure it out or fall flat on your pancake ass. Consider what being better then Elmo means, sure she has the phoenix force but thats not a guarantee to her always having victory. Often times skill beats out sheer power so while your working on fighting and powers, work out at that grey matter in your skull too "

Again nobody wanted to admit it but Riku had a point, Sandra was gaining more skill and power with phoenix force, but she was still relatively green with it. Someone with sufficent skill and talent could still manage to take her down and this thought had a deep effect on Cassandra.

Tanesha patted her shoulder " We can help you work out a style thats all your own, if you want " she wanted to help Cassandra trully feel like her own person.

" Definetly gonna need all the help she can get. In any event it seems like you bitches are all working your way to actually being worth something and thats worthy of a song, lets hit it! "

Music started playing and the girls were feeling pretty inspired to step it up.

Riku:
Uh
Here we go, that's right

Tanesha:
Uh-huh, uh-huh

Riku:
Uh-huh, let's go y'all
And 5, 6, 7, with the vocals!

Riku, Katy, and Cassandra:
Ooo-ooo

Tanesha:
Oo-oo-ooo

Riku, Katy, and Cassandra:
Ooo-ooo

Tanesha:
Hey

Katy and Cassandra:
Oo-ooo

Riku:
Alright, Katy, work it girl!

Tanesha:
M-mm (O-oh) yeah

Katy:
Right here (Tanesha:yeah)... and now!
Is what... it's all about
Bring on... the crowd!
We're ready, steady
Strong and proud!

Tanesha:
We're locked... it shows
No stoppin' us, we're in the zone (yeah)
Red hot (c'mon)... we know
In it to win it, girls let's go!

Riku, Tanesha, Katy, and Cassandra:
Step up!
It's time to work it!
Step out!
Gotta do it for real!
Say it loud!
It's time to dance
Step up and shine the way it feels!
Step up!
It's now or never!
Step out!
All the Cheetah Girls!
Say it loud!
Right here together
Time for us to show the world!

Yeah-yeah, oh-mmm

Show 'em what we're workin' with! Ha ha!

All yea, all right!

We got it!

Come, let 'em know!

Cassandra:
Let's turn... away

All:
From the mirror!

Cassandra:
It's time to play
Our rules!

[All]
Our game

Cassandra:
We know we've got just what it takes!

Riku:
We've come...

Tanesha, Katy, and Cassandra:
This far!

Riku:
Sometimes!

Tanesha, Katy, and Cassandra:
It might be hard

Riku:
But, we know...

Tanesha, Katy, and Cassandra:
Who we are

Riku:
Each one of us are superstars!

Riku, Tanesha, Katy, and Cassandra:
Step up!
It's time to work it! (Ow!)
Step out!
Gotta do it for real!
Say it loud!
It's time to dance
Step up and shine the way it feels
(Show 'em how you feel)
Step up!
It's now or never!
Step out!
All the Cheetah Girls
Say it loud!
Right here together
Time for us to show the world! (the world!)

Riku:
We believe it cause we know we can...

Katy:
We can... reach any dream, now we understand

Cassandra:
There's no givin' up or givin' in...

Tanesha:
5, 6, 7, 8...
Again... (again)... again
Ohh, yea!

Cassandra:
Ooo, Tanesha!

Riku:
Katy, go on girl!

[Tanesha:
Cassandra, do your thing!

Katy:
That's right, Riku!

Riku, Tanesha, Katy, and Cassandra:
Neva' gonna step 'til we (Tanesha:oh-oh-oh) reach the top
Neva' gonna stop
Neva'
(Cassandra:Uh-uh, whoo!)
Neva gonna stop 'til we reach the top

Ooo-ooo-ooo, yea!

Step up!
It's time to work it!
Step out!
Gotta do it for real! (Katy:Oh)
Say it loud!
It's time to dance. Step up and shine the way you feels
Step up!
It's now or never!
Step out!
All the Cheetah Girls! (Riku:Cheetah Girls!)
Say it loud!
Right here together
Time for us to show the world!

[Dance Break: The Cheetah Girls]
(Tanesha:Uh, c'mon, c'mon. Woo!)
Say it loud for me now
It's the dance break, time to work it out
(Cassandra:uh-huh time to work it out)
Break it down for me now
Cheetahs in the house, won't you dance for me now (Katy:mm-hmm)
Uh, work it out for me now (Riku:Oooo)
Cheetahs in the house, won't you shine for me now?
(Tanesha:yeah-hey)
Katy, Tanesha, Riku
(Riku:Come on, sing it with me!)
Cassandra in the house, won't you sing it for me now?
(Woo!)


Step up!
It's time to work it! (Yea)
Step out!
Gotta do it for real! (Cheetah!)
Say it loud!
It's time to dance. Step up and shine the way it feels (Hey!)
Step up!
It's now or never! (C'mon, c'mon)
Step out!
All the Cheetah Girls! (Oh)
Say it loud!
Right here together
It's time for us to do it
Step up!


The four of them put on a highly choreographed dance routine as they sang, Riku's breast deflating to to Telsa's natural size for the sake of the performance, as they finished and struck poses, those around them broke out into applause. Emmet applauded them as they finished, even as he instructed Sandra.

Sandra gave a nod and followed the instructions, closing her eyes and envisioning a long body of water in the form of a big pool in front of her. The surrounding was nothing but black and darkness, a representation of Sandra closing off her mind to outside distractions and random thoughts. She kept her mind just open enough that she would still hear Emmet's voice, but otherwise it was just her and the pool in a void of nothingness. With a slight hint of nervousness given herself and Emmet where still learning, Sandra slipped gently into the shallow water and started to slowly but steadily wade deeper as Emmet said.

-----

Cass hadn't been in to many musicals, so that was quite the experience for her. Tonight gave her some food for thought though. The Phoenix was scary, but was something that could be overcome with proper skill as mother and Riku alluded to. Seems like there may be more to learn from the True Notes then Cass had given them credit for. "Well thank you all for the support and including me that lovely performance." Cassandra initially only wanted Tanesha to herself out of all this, and while that is still her main goal, it seemed there was other benefits to trying to maintain a relationship with the True Notes.

Emmet watched as Sandra progressed through the pool of water, in the physical world cosmic energy had started to spread out from Sandra's body, gradually coating it. So far the drawing of power was going well as Sandra continued. Emmet remained on alert for even the slightest hint that something would go wrong " Excellent dawling, keep going "

------------------------------------------------------------

" No problem gurl and get ready cause your gonna get dragged into a lot of musical numbers hanging with us " Tanesha said giving the other girl a friendly shoulder bump. It was nice to see Cassandra open up more and enjoy being around the group, she knew people like Tesla and Riku didn exactly go out of their way to make her welcome, the former constantly being hostile.

" You know ladies, and im using that word very looslely, this has been a pretty enjoyable experience, WHAT THE FUCK AM I SAYING?!!?? "

Riku bent over as if he was in pain for a moment, his body altering till finally he returned to his preferred form " Oh thank cock i'm black again! I am never turning into that fake ass, cubic zirconia ass bitch again and never need to speak of this"

He magicked up a mirror and starred at himself for awhile " Well, I suppose i've graced you bitches with my presence long enough, should probably get back to my dumbass students " he cast a look around the three girls for a moment " Hmm, though one last lesson wouldnt hurt, ok thats obviously a lie "

He pointed at the training dummy and it suddenly started giving off a demonic glow and twitching, it jerked around till it stood upright before suddenly launching itself at Tanesha, who narrowly avoided it, it's fist hitting the ground and making a sizeable hole in it.

" Bitch what the fuck?! " Tanesha demanded, though she already knew what was going on, this wasnt the first time Riku had brought out a posessed object for the group to use for training.

Riku sat back in a chair of darkness and stretched out " Practice makes perfect right? Just giving Elmers glue a little boost, unless you guys wanna spar against me-

Tanesha/Katy/Cassandra: NO

" Thats what I thought, now quit your bitching and throw hands, training level for this thing aint that high, though its durable as fuck, wouldnt be much point otherwise, fight however you want to take it down "

The dummy swiveled its head towards Cassandra, marking her as its next target.

Emmet's voice and confirmation things was going well was calming for Sandra. She continued wading the water and before long she was waist deep, so about half her body was now submerged. She wondered what it represented at this point. Was she pulling on half the Phoenix now, or was merely half way to her personal limit? Sandra suspected the second option, but she wasn't really sure. She continued on, the water naturally getting harder to wade though the deeper she got. But even as the water started creeping up past her belly, she still felt at ease and in control. At least for now doubt and fear wasn't clouding her mind.

-----

Cassandra didn't wait around for this thing to attack first, she grabbed the dummy in a telenetic hold, lifted it up into the air and slammed it hard into the ground. The dummy left a deep cartoony style human shaped hole in the ground. Tani and Katy leaned forward about to look down when Cass contacted them. "Stay on guard, I know Riku isn't going to make this that easy on us."

Cosmic power continued to flow out of Sandra at a stead pace, remaining contained around her person. Emmet could see thay Sandra was reaching the halfway point of limit with the phoenix force. She was still doing fine so Emmet continued to coach her forward.

" You know, when I'm working with the power, I often feel it helps to use a certain visualization, I adore the arts afteralland they shape my life, so why not this myserious power as well. Music is, as always, an excellent tool "

-----------------------------------------------------

Cassandra suddenly felt an invisible force grab her and lift her into the air before tossing her in the direction of the other girls. Springing into action, Tanesha immediately rushed forward with Katy, the two catching the other girls and managing to put her back on the ground.

Tanesha focused her chi to boost her senses, just in time as the dummy attacked her left, she cartwheeled out of the way and shifted into a roundhouse kick that the dummy blocked the attack and shifted for a kick of its own. Tanesha started to jump back, but her body wasnt moving the way she wanted it to, it felt like she was stuck in jello. As she was kicked in the stomache, she realized the possessed dummy was mirroring their powers.

Sandra agreed, music was always a great motivator. She decided to take Emmet's advice and started humming a tune that would turn a full song as she kept dredging ever deeper into the water.

Sandra (Emmet)

I can see
When you stay low
Nothing happens
Does it feel right?
Late at night
Things I thought I'd put behind me
Haunt my mind

I just know there's no escape now
Once it sets it's eyes on you
But I won't run
Have to stare it in the eyes

Stand my ground
I won't give in
No more denying
I've gotta face it
Won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside
If I don't make it, someone else will
Stand my ground

It's all around
Getting stronger, coming closer into my world
I can feel that it's time for me to face it
Can I take it?

Though this might just be the ending
Of the life I held so dear
But I won't run
There's no turning back from here

Stand my ground
I won't give in
No more denying
I've gotta face it
Won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside
If I don't make it, someone else will
Stand my ground

All I know for sure is that I'm trying
I will always stand my ground

Stand my ground
I won't give in, (I won't give in)
I won't give up, (I won't give up)
No more denying (ah)
I've gotta face it
Won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside
If I don't make it, someone else will

Stand my ground
I won't give in
No more denying
I've gotta face it
Won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside
If I don't make it, someone else will
Stand my ground




As was common for True Notes Sandra lost herself to the song. Suddenly she realised she was no long moving, she was in fact floating. Water below her feet, and water above her head. It seemed she may of unintentionally walked right off the proverbial deep end. It felt weird just floating here, one would think in this type of situation a person would be panicking and gasping for air, trying to hurriedly swim to the surface. But yet Sandra remained calm, somehow she did not feel in danger. "Emmet, I think we can safely say I've exceeded all my past limitations."

Sandra had planned to stop at around chest or shoulder height, at the max neck height. But it was to late now, she'd gone well beyond that at this point. The power she was generating out in the real world of been pretty immense by now, though she herself was still unsure if stood up to Emmet even at this point. "Do I dare to swim any deeper at this point? The water I'm floating in still allows light to shine though. In the distance as the pool gets ever deeper though, the water gets darker.

It was the same idea as the ocean, near land or near the surface light could penetrate and reach. But the deeper you go, the darker it gets. Sandra starred at the looming darkness in the distance. While she had no fear of drowning, that darkness did scare her. "Is that where you was when you went all Dark Phoenix on us, where you in the darkness?"

-----

As Tanesha took the first hit from the dummy Katy took advantage of the opening to land a kick to the dummy's back. Katy to was utilising her chi to help balance the fight, especially given she and Tani had already been training and wore each other out earlier. They really haven't had all that much rest time and it was a safe bet neither of the two girls where likely to be at 100%.

The dummy turned towards Katy next to throw a punch her way but Cass was back to her feet by now and stopped the punch dead an inch from Katy's face. The force that threw her felt like Telekinsis, Cass to was thinking this dummy was using their own powers against time. Katy took advantage of the second opening Cass gave now hitting the dummy with a gut kick followed by a elbow to the back of the neck, managing to send the dummy to the ground.